I heart Cape Town

Everyday I'm more and more amazed at what a beautiful place I live in. Having lived in Cape Town, Joburg and Durban I feel I can say, without a doubt, that Cape Town is by far the best. I'm sure true Durbanites and Johannesburgers will argue, but I don't really care. We not only have a picturesque mountain that adorns our landscape everyday, but also white - sandy beaches and a blue sea. Not to mention the fact that I'm bombarded with gorgeous-supermodel people that make me want to hide in my house and never go out again. Honestly, where the hell do they come from? Is their a secret government warehouse that breeds them like cattle?

Whenever I leave Cape Town to visit my mom in PE, I count the days until I can return and once I drive into Cape Town I can never remember why I left. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom, but Cape Town is my home and I would never want to live anywhere else. The people in Cape Town are also the most colourful of South Africa. Its filled with anyone from emos to indie kids, from jocks to hippies and everything in between...

The highlight of my day is walking through the city center, between the stalls by the train station, and through the company gardens. It almost seems like their in completely different worlds and not just different streets. The different people, the different classes, the different atmospheres all rolled into one.

Nothing can beat it

Civil Twilight's debut Self Titled Album

Last year June I was given Civil Twilight’s self-titled album by a good friend who assured me they would be right up my alley. I didn’t really give them another thought and hadn’t even bothered to listen to the album. For the past couple of months I’ve been hearing Civil Twilight everywhere; their song ‘Letters from the sky’ has been blowing up the charts on 5fm as well as the billboard charts, I hear their songs on international series such as One Tree Hill and they recently played at the Kirstenbosch Gardens, Cape Town. It was time to play their CD and hear what all the praise was about. Now that I’ve heard it it’s weird to think that I had never heard of them before. 

Originally from Cape Town this band has taken the world by storm. One can’t help but feel a little proud at how well our boys have done so far. Civil Twilight is made up of Brothers, Steven (vocals, bass guitar and keyboard) and Andrew McKellar, (guitar and vocals) and lifelong friend, Richard Wouters (drums and percussion). In 2005 the band decided to move to Los Angeles and there after was signed to an indie Label. And the rest, as they say, is rock history. 

Let’s get back to their album. The powerful vocals and strong emotionally charged beats can’t but stir feelings. One can hear the strong influence of early U2, Oasis, the Verve, and even Coldplay. Some of their songs are more chilled while others want to make you get up and jump. It’s awesome to listen to a band that knows and can play their instruments well. Too often we have people picking up a guitar and playing mediocre. I was hoping that their cover of Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’ would be included in this album, but you should definitely try download it or look it up on Youtube. It’s a beautiful cover that does the original proud but also adding their own spin to the mix. 

Over all this is a band to watch. Their beautiful notes and powerful vocals will brighten up your day or even help you get over a heart break. Look out for them when they are next in South Africa.